Calcareous Nannofossil Biostratigraphy


Book Description

Calcareous nannofossils are an exceptionally important microfossil group, with their living counterparts, coccolithopores, representing one of the major components of phytoplankton in present day oceans. Their abundant fossil record and world-wide distribution has led to their rapid acceptance as one of the most important index-fossil groups in stratigraphical research. The first two chapters of this book provide general information concerning calcareous nannofossils, including reviews of their biology and palaeobiology, and preparation and observation techniques. Chapters 3-9 are ordered stratigraphically, and present state-of-the-art summaries of calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphy for each time period, with comprehensive illustrations of all taxa within a standardised classification based on the latest research into structure and biomineralization. The practical application of these biostratigraphic schemes is discussed, including comments on zones biogeography, taxonomy and evolution. This information is internationally relevant, and global correlation is discussed. Calcareous Nannofossil Biostratigraphy is the most comprehensive atlas of this fossil group ever produced, containing 65 full page plates with over 2,000 individual photographs, together with comments concerning stratigraphic distribution and identification. Chapters on the Mesozoic contain electron microscope illustrations as well as light micrographs. The inclusion of much recent, previously unpublished, research provides a new level of biostratigraphic resolution for a number of time periods, making the book both a valuable synthesis and a significant step forward in biogeographical research. Calcareous Nannofossil Biostratigraphy is a comprehensive practical handbook for palaeontologists and organizations who use calcareous nannofossils in biostratigraphy, and provides a valuable practical reference work for earth scientists engaged in stratigraphic research, and those interested in palaeontology, palaeoceanography, stratigraphy and geochronology.




Applications of Non-Pollen Palynomorphs


Book Description

This long-awaited book about non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs) aims to cover gaps in our knowledge of these abundant but understudied palynological remains. NPPs, such as fungal spores, testate amoebae, dinoflagellate cysts, acritarchs and animal remains, are routinely recovered from palynological preparations of marine or terrestrial material, from Proterozoic to recent geological times. This book gives the reader a comprehensive overview of the different types of NPPs, with examples from diverse time periods and environments. It provides guidance on sample preparation to maximize the recovery of these NPPs, detailed information on their diversity and ecological affinity, clarification on the nomenclature and demonstrates their value as environmental indicators. This volume will become the reference guide for any student, academic or practitioner interested in everything else in their palynological preparations.




Reconstructing Earth's Climate History


Book Description

The context for understanding global climate change today lies in the records of Earth’s past. This is demonstrated by decades of paleoclimate research by scientists in organizations such as the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP), the Antarctic Geological Drilling Program (ANDRILL), and many others. The purpose of this full colour textbook is to put key data and published case studies of past climate change at your fingertips, so that you can experience the nature of paleoclimate reconstruction. Using foundational geologic concepts, students explore a wide variety of topics, including: marine sediments, age determination, stable isotope paleoclimate proxies, Cenozoic climate change, climate cycles, polar climates, and abrupt warming and cooling events, students are invited to evaluate published scientific data, practice developing and testing hypotheses, and infer the broader implications of scientific results. It is our philosophy that addressing how we know is as important as addressing what we know about past climate change. Making climate change science accessible is the goal of this book. This book is intended for earth science students at a variety of levels studying paleoclimatology, oceanography, Quaternary science, or earth-system science. Additional resources for this book can be found at: http://www.wiley.com/go/stjohn/climatehistory.




Coccolithophores


Book Description

This introduction to one of the most common phytoplankton types provides broad coverage from molecular and cellular biology all the way to its impact on the global carbon cycle and climate. Individual chapters focus on coccolithophore biology, ecology, evolutionary phylogeny and impact on current and past global changes. The book addresses fundamental questions about the interaction between the biota and the environment at various temporal and spatial scales.







Coccolithophores


Book Description

Paleobiology is arguably the next frontier in micropaleontology, and no one group may have more impact on the global environment with a more enigmatic life history than the tiny coccolithophores, whose countless calcitic skeletons are a considerable percentage of oceanic biomass, with a major role in the Earth's carbon cycle. The isolated fragments or "coccoliths" that make up vast carbonate deposits are no longer to be considered as merely sedimentary particles but as the invaluable record of once living organisms that have an important story to tell in terms of evolutionary biology. It is in this perspective that Coccolithophores: Cenozoic Discoasterales-Biology, Taxonomy, Stratigraphy presents a century of research on a recently extinct group whose species consistently represented over half of the coccolithophore communities in low latitudes. Their distinctive morphologies and structures, described and abundantly illustrated in this volume, render them ideal for biological and phylogenetic reconstruction as well as tentative physiological interpretations. The application to biostratigraphy, biochronology and chronostratigraphy of the several hundred species in the order is also reviewed and complemented by an appendix (https://www.sepm.org/supplemental-materials) of four catalogues with genera and species organized according to comprehensive keys of determination. While the book is designed to inform biologists and earth scientists interested in plankton evolutionary history, the appendix will assist students and professionals alike in academia and industry with the taxonomy of the order and the dating of marine sedimentary successions in which they occur.




Introduction to Marine Micropaleontology


Book Description

This beautifully illustrated text book, with state-of-the-art illustrations, is useful not only for an introduction to the subject, but also for the application of marine microfossils in paleoceanographic, paleoenvironmental and biostratigraphic analyses. The recent revival of interest in marine micropaleontology worldwide in the wake of the development of sequence stratigraphic models has led to the decision to reissue the volume in its original, but paperback, form. The ideas expressed in various chapters of this second edition remain as valid today as they were when the book was first issued. The text, however, includes an updated Phanerozoic geologic time which has been considerably modified since the 1980s.




Global Events and Event Stratigraphy in the Phanerozoic


Book Description

The existence of rapid and even catastrophic turnovers within the Phanerozoic ecosystems has been discussed controversially for more than 170 years. Since 1980 this discussion has become even more intensive after the hypothesis of Alvarez, explaining the end-Cretaceous mass extinction as the result of a huge asteroid impact on the Earth. This theory stimulated several thousand papers and is still controversial. The international research programme on "Global Biological Events in Earth History" attempts to bring the discussion back to the facts by using multidisciplinary investigations of the major Phanerozoic events. The results of an international group of experts are presented giving a wealth of information and a thorough discussion of the causes of the various global events.